Officer who was shot 'in good spirits,' stable

Thursday

Mar 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - A Stockton police officer who was shot in the stomach while on duty last week remains hospitalized in stable condition. Police Department officials have no timetable for when he will be discharged.

Jordan Guinn

STOCKTON - A Stockton police officer who was shot in the stomach while on duty last week remains hospitalized in stable condition. Police Department officials have no timetable for when he will be discharged.

There also is no estimate on when Officer Keith Berry may return to active duty, said Officer Pete Smith, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.

"He's still hospitalized, but he is in good spirits and is able to accept visitors," Smith said.

Authorities have not disclosed details about Berry's injury, other than an initial description of him receiving a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.

Detective Joe Silva of the Stockton Police Department confirmed shortly after the attack that Berry was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting, but officials have not said whether the round penetrated the vest or whether Berry was shot in an unprotected area.

The 13-year veteran of the force was wounded during an altercation March 21 in the 1900 block of Colt Drive. He and another officer were patrolling an area where a homicide had taken place 48 hours earlier. The shooting occurred while the officers were making contact with a group of men standing near a corner shortly before 10 p.m.

One of the men, Chomrean Meas, 19, fought with Berry and shot him during the scuffle, police said. Meas died when Officer Thomas Heslin returned fire and struck him, officials said.

A protocol investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Authorities have said the gun that wounded Berry was also used in the March 19 homicide of Stanley Jones, 42, who was killed in the same area.

To assist Berry's family with costs related to his recovery, the Stockton Police Officer's Association is collecting donations through its Orphans and Widows Fund, said Officer Mark McLaughlin, a member of the association.

Donations can be made through a link at the association's website, stocktonpoa.com.

McLaughlin - saying he is by no means a medical expert - expressed optimism on Berry's recovery.

"With stomach wounds, you are always concerned about infections," he said. "But I'm guessing, because he didn't get one in the first few days (following his injury), he's going to be OK in that respect. But it's still premature to say when he may get out (of the hospital)."